The natural history of fishes, amphibians, & reptiles, or monocardian animals . ost singular species ofcod, described as very rare in the Mediterranean byRisso, who has likewise given a rude figure of it: inthis the dorsal fins are only two; and the two anal finsare so much united, that they appear almost as onethat is deeply cleft. Risso describes it, however, as aGadus, which, in all other respects, it resembles. It isa remarkable circumstance, that, of the two species he * Icones et Deserip. Piscium et Vermium Zoop. Camtschaticorum Pe-tropoli, 1810. This rare work is in the library of the L
The natural history of fishes, amphibians, & reptiles, or monocardian animals . ost singular species ofcod, described as very rare in the Mediterranean byRisso, who has likewise given a rude figure of it: inthis the dorsal fins are only two; and the two anal finsare so much united, that they appear almost as onethat is deeply cleft. Risso describes it, however, as aGadus, which, in all other respects, it resembles. It isa remarkable circumstance, that, of the two species he * Icones et Deserip. Piscium et Vermium Zoop. Camtschaticorum Pe-tropoli, 1810. This rare work is in the library of the Linnsean Society. MERLUCI US. 319 mentions, one has the tail truncated or slightly rounded,while in the other it is, as he says, bifid : we reconcilethis difference by supposing that his Gadus Lepidion (ourLepidion Rissoii) connects with Tilesia; and that hisGadus Moro (our Lepidion Moro), which has the caudabifida prepares the way to the last type, or only species yet discovered of this extraordinarytype is the Gadus macrocephalus of Tilesius (fig. 72.) :. the head is so enormously large, that it is nearly halfthe length of the whole fish, and is much thicker thanany part of the body; the crown also is depressed; andthe whole fish immediately gives the idea of a giganticRaniceps; but having the three dorsals, and all theother points of structure of the true cods, except thatthe tail is truncate, and the gills covered with scales. (268.) The Merlucince are less numerous in species,and in the variation of their forms ; and thus we knowof only three genera. To the first of these, named byRafinesque Merlucius*, after the Gadus Merluciusof Linnaeus, belongs the common hake, peculiar tonorthern seas, with which the Mediterranean hake ( §w.,fig. 73.), now for the first time described,
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, booksubj, booksubjectfishes, booksubjectreptiles
